Over the past year and a half, I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t want to work anymore. With the coronavirus pandemic raging on for a year and a half now, I have had a lot of time to think. The pandemic has put a lot of things in perspective. One of those things that I have come to realize is that time is very precious.
We are only in this world for so long and a lot of that time we spend doing things we don’t want to do. There are a lot of psychological reasons that our behavior follows a predetermined path of success according to society. Oftentimes that success is not the dreams that we have, but rather what we feel like we are supposed to do according to the rules of society.
This time physically away from work and working remotely has allowed me to do a lot of thinking and self-reflection about the reasons why I don’t want to work anymore. I know I am not the only one that doesn’t want to work anymore either because studies show this as a common trend.
You may not want to work anymore in an office just like a lot of people. As a matter of fact, 50% of the workforce does not want to return back to their offices according to a CNBC poll.
If you don’t want to work anymore but need money, there are things that you can do. Some of your options include preparing yourself financially before you stop working. In addition, you can also find new passions that will allow you to earn income outside of cubicles and administrative management meetings. You can also focus on work that is more rewarding as well.
If you don’t want to work anymore and are wondering what you should do, there are details below on some of the options that might be available to you.
Why Don’t I Want to Work?
The answer to this question will be different for everybody. My reasons why I don’t want to work anymore may not be the same as the reasons you have not wanting to work. One reason why I don’t want to work anymore is because it is not allowing me the time to do what I want to do. There are plenty of ways to make money online with no experience if I need money.
During high school education is when students start to think about what they want to do in their life. They complete metric tests and academic tests as a way to gauge what their interests and strengths are. Those assessments are used to help guide the students into some type of career options as they prepare for college.
At that point the student is pretty much set on their career path and what they should do as far as work in earning an income. It’s not necessarily what they want to do but the assessments have shown they would have the greatest likelihood of success in work following those career paths.
I followed this pathway as well.
However my pathway was not really the type of work I wanted to do. What ends up happening is the further along you progress working a job you don’t want to work, the more comfortable it becomes. You have major life changes that occur.
One day you wake up and it seems you are living in mid-life and feel your life is half over. You start to value your personal time instead of working.
I Don’t Want a Career Anymore
Time is one of the things that you must sacrifice to get ahead at work. This is especially true if you have a career instead of a high paying job. Careers take a lot more effort. You must be passionate about your career and the work that you do in order to advance your career.
Ways to advance your career include taking initiatives on special projects, working extra hours, completing a report, and sometimes doing job tasks while not receiving additional compensation.
Advancing your career is great for a company and their bottom line, however it may not be good for yours. All of the time spent advancing a career doesn’t really help you gain. I don’t want to have a career anymore because it’s not helping me personally gain financial independence and money.
The Work Environment Has Changed
Years ago, the work environment could be likened to a “waterfall” where employees would start at the bottom and could find themselves working their way up. Now, the typical flow is more like a pool.
Where it was once possible for less-experienced people to be promoted quickly at a new job, that’s no longer an expectation. Today it is a personal wish for many employees. More often than not, you’ll find yourself in one place doing one thing full time until you are good enough or qualified enough to do something else on your own accord.
This might seem great but think about all of those hours, weeks, months, and years spent advancing just so they can give themselves away again? That puts me in this weird headspace because I don’t want to work anymore and I’m sure as heck not making any money while working hard either.
Tired of the Work at My Job
Looking for a new job in the world at one time was exciting for me years ago when I was starting my career. To find a job was exciting initially. Now, I am tired of the work at my job.
Working 40 hours a week at my job is a lot of hours. I am going to work for my company and on top of that, I have a job as well! That is more than 40 hours a week at one time spent working, and 80 hours every two weeks.
I don’t want to be stagnant anymore doing the same thing over and over only because it pays better or offers me benefits.
I Don’t Have Free Time in My Life Due to Work
In the current world with so many people working at home, they get stuck working all the time. I no longer have free time in my personal life. Every week is the same week with work stuff and projects. My position is demanding which is another reason I don’t want to go back to work. I can’t see my friends or kids and that is not good for my health.
Not having free time in my life is bad for my mental health.
When I am feeling depressed, it is a lot harder to work and often times all I want to do is curl up in bed.
My best friend’s advice was not to go back to work because she works too much as well. She said that her company has been struggling lately a report shows, so if things don’t change soon then they will be out of jobs.
I need an income but I also want more free time away from work
The thing about the internet today is that there are plenty of ways to earn money at home without sacrificing our free time or needing any qualifications whatsoever.
I Need to Save My Mental Health
I don’t want to go to work because I need to save my mental health and my life. There are a lot of problems with mental health in society and in this world. Many of my friends who went back to work, they are not doing well. I know this is true because I am one of those people who sometimes has to go to work, and it was the worst decision ever.
I just feel like I need a break from life for now and I am tired.
I’m going through some stuff right now so that’s why I don’t want to work anymore or have any career aspirations. It seems like my problems will be solved if I take a break from life for awhile but at the same time it worries me too because there might come a day when I’ll need an income again.
But maybe in another year after taking time off then things will look better?
I Don’t Want to Be an Employee Anymore
Additional reasons why I don’t want to work anymore have a lot to do with office politics. Nowadays it’s very hard and difficult to work in an office culture. I don’t want to be an employee anymore because it’s harder than ever to fit into an office culture nowadays. Working as an employee for an organization often causes great anxiety for some people. I don’t want to be an employee anymore because it can have a negative effect on my health and shorten my life span.
When you work in an office you must spend a lot of time adhering to the office policy and culture. I don’t want to be an employee anymore because I would rather spend my time working towards financial gain.
I No Longer Want to Go Back and Report to Work
To say I don’t want to go back to work is a bit of an understatement. I don’t want to do any more time-consuming, soul-sucking tasks just so I can get paid enough money to sustain my existence on this planet for another few years.
I don’t want to be an employee anymore because it’s harder than ever to fit into an office culture nowadays. Working as an employee for an organization often causes great anxiety for some people.
Some people would rather not take the risk and have their sanity questioned every day when they go back home in order to avoid them from going insane or being deemed unemployable due to mental illness by having a negative job history.
People who are self employed seem happier and less anxious than those with jobs that require them reporting directly to a place of business.
I Don’t Want to Work Ever
There are so many reasons why I don’t want to work anymore. I’d much rather focus on myself and making a difference for somebody else instead of an organization’s bottom line. I want to be in charge of my own destiny in my life which may or may not include working. I’d like to do other things in my life such as travel instead of being tied to a cubicle from 9 to 5.
Sometimes I think the Covid pandemic was what the world needed to re-balance itself. As tragic as Covid has been, one positive is there people have had a chance and a pause from work to examine their lifestyles.
A lot of people have realized that they don’t want to go to work ever again and work 40 hours as a result of the pandemic. People have been able to do new routines and focus on improving other areas of their life instead of working. I think we all can agree that none of us miss a grueling commute to work as an employee for a company job to earn money. However, I need to find a way how to deal with lifestyle inflation if I want to quit my job.
I know that I am not the only one that doesn’t want to work anymore. However just like everybody else I simply cannot stop working tomorrow. That’s why it’s important for me to come up with a career exit strategy if I want to start enjoying my life outside of working.
I Don’t Want to Work Anymore But I Need Money
I know that I don’t want to work anymore. That is a fact. I also know that I have significant expenses every month right now as well. I have to come up with a way to replace my monthly income with different options instead of my work salary.
You are probably in the same situation as I am. Having monthly expenses is one thing that prevents people from quitting their careers. Coming up with ways to reduce expenses and getting enough money is the key to not working ever again.
Below are some options how to reduce expenses and increase income so you never have to go to work again.
What Should I Do When I Go to Work?
While I say I don’t want to go to work, I know I have to report back at least in the short-term. I have to start formulating a plan for the long-term, however.
Often, I feel like there are things I could do maybe before I quit work to prepare my kids, family, and myself. I know I could work on my contingency plan. Or perhaps, I could even do a course to prepare for when I go back to the workforce in some capacity, such as freelancing, consulting or starting an online store.
I know that this is a long-term personal dream but it does affect my family. There are expenses at work like company-paid healthcare which would be difficult (or impossible) to cover if I don’t have a job. In addition, there may be severance payouts coming down the pipe from my old jobs so those need to get saved up too.
Research Out What I’ll Need to Cover That Work Pays For
When I report and go to work I will have to determine the things I will need to start covering on my own when I quit my job. Those things might include healthcare, insurance or car payments.
I’ll need to figure out how much I will owe in taxes and when my debt will be repaid from before taking this leap of faith.
And what about the money that is set aside for retirement?
- That would have to go into some kind of a portfolio account like an IRA (Individual Retirement Account). This comes with different rates than putting it straight into investments so it depends on what your current rate can get you. Setting up my retirement outside of an employer will be important.
With these considerations taken care of, saving up could take less time if I work smarter as well as harder before I quit. There are going to be costs associated with no longer having any form of employer income.
I’ll need to consider hiring a CPA or Financial Planner to help me feel free to invest in whatever makes sense for my new life. If I have to start covering my related health insurance, that’s going to cost more, but I’m not sure if there is a plan that starts at the same level of coverage.
I’ll also need to consider things like Social Security benefits because they are based on my income from employment and being self-employed will have different requirements.
Not Quite Yet But Saving Instead
I stated up above that I am not in a position to stop working immediately. Most people can’t just quit their jobs and walk away from work unless they have planned it out. Waking up one morning and deciding that you don’t want to work ever again can be disastrous, if you don’t have a plan mapped out of how to pay your expenses.
While you start working on a plan how to quit your career, you should start saving your extra money. I know it might be tempting to spend this money, but you may need it to pay off some of your current debts.
Saving money while still working is a great way how to build up an emergency fund. You may need an emergency fund when you stop working to cover unexpected expenses. Having an emergency fund allows you to save money for a future use. You can start an emergency fund and contribute toward it while you plan how you will stop working.
Reduce My Expenses Significantly
If I’m planning to not work anymore part of my strategy is to reduce my expenses significantly. If I’m able to do this I will need less income to cover my expenses per month. There are a lot of ways people will tell you how to reduce your expenses. However there are only a couple ways you can reduce your monthly expenses to save significant money.
- If I don’t want to work anymore I should focus on reducing my housing expenses. Housing expenses are the largest expenses I have. Most people have 25% of their income or more going towards their cost of housing and property taxes.
There are a couple different ways you can reduce your housing expenses both temporary and permanently.
- One way is that you can consider moving in with parents temporarily. Even if you have to pay a small amount towards their housing costs it’s going to be a lot cheaper than paying for your own housing. You may be able to split expenses such as cable TV and grocery bills.
- Another way how to reduce your expenses so you can stop working is to consider living in cooperative housing community. I live in this type of community and I was able to reduce my annual housing expenses by $20,000 per year.
Finding My Passions
If I don’t want to work anymore, I need to find a job or way to earn income. One of those ways is to determine what my passions are. Finding what a person’s passions are can be done by exploring what they are really good at doing.
I am a successful finance manager, so I should just manage finances for people and make money that way. Additionally, I also like to sell things.
There is no one right answer for this question because every person has different passions. And it’s not only about making money but also fulfilling your life with the things you love to do most.
Finding Your Own Passion:
- The first step in finding out your passion is figuring out exactly what defines that passion or interests you the most? What excites you when thinking about it? For example, if someone loves playing sports then maybe he would like coaching high school tennis as a career versus being an accountant managing other people’s finances.
Once we have our idea of what we’re passionate about, we can tailor that passion into making money to support ourselves.
Gaining Skills While Still Working
If you know that you don’t want to work anymore but are unsure of what your passions are, you can explore this while still working. You can gain skills while still working to make the transition to new opportunities outside of work.
Consider taking professional development classes to stay current in your field.
You may also want to consider volunteering or taking on an internship that provides for skills you are interested in gaining but not getting at work. Gaining skills while still working is important because it is possible to change careers but still need a certain set of skills.
Volunteering to gain skills could help you develop your own personal passions.
You may be able to volunteer at an organization you are interested in and gain skills as well as get experience there that will help with your career change or earning money.
Be Motivated While Exploring New Areas
To dream of a new prospect other than your current job, set aside time to search and explore new avenues.
The exploration should include talking with family and friends about what you love, what your passions are and how that could fit into a future career. It might also involve taking online courses or exploring an option at the local library. See what the answer might be from family on a new position prospect.
Take care of yourself in this process by making sure to sleep well and eat right while going through different possibilities for your next job.
These steps will help you be more skilled as well as open-minded when it comes to changing careers. Whatever changes take place, they happen because it is what’s best for you rather than just based on circumstantial factors such as money problems, work conflicts or anything else outside of who you really want to be professionally.
Doing Work That is Rewarding Instead
If you have faced the fact that you do need to continue working for money, then find a job or doing work that is rewarding. Search for a position that would be fun or personal to you with a company that has a great work environment. You could find a job, go to work, and love your new job.
There are businesses that you can even start part-time and transition to full-time when you are ready.
What is rewarding for one person may not be for another, but when you are working on something that rewards you internally it will make time spent at work more valuable.
Finding personal satisfaction in your job and being happy with the kind of work that you do can also help to reduce stress levels substantially. Don’t go back to a job you hate.
If you have to find new income through rewarding work, it will be much easier for you to stay motivated and happy.
You have the option of reducing hours at work or starting something on the side like freelance opportunities while still being employed full time so as not to be reliant solely on one source of income.
Another way could be developing a business idea that will generate additional revenue outside of your current job responsibilities; such as creating videos for YouTube entrepreneurs who are small-time business owners themselves. This can allow them more freedom in their day-to-day lives without having too much stress related to what they do every day which provides some sort of relief.
Learning to Work for Yourself
If you don’t want to work for a company or business anymore then work for yourself and become your own boss. There are many ways to figure out how to get paid if you have a business idea and the passion for what you do. As a matter of fact there are a lot of people who have put in their two weeks and left their careers and started their own companies up.
Many people who work from home (or other areas) find success by starting their own virtual assistant business so they can assist busy professionals around the world with anything from social media management & digital marketing campaigns to accounting services & sales. Although it can take a long time to set up a system, working for yourself is an amazing feeling and you can put your own hours in so it’s a perfect fit for people who don’t want to work anymore.
When I was working, my days felt like they never ended but now as a freelancer, I spend time with my kids before bed and then wake up early the next morning start at breakfast time. It makes me feel more rested and less stressed out about not having enough free time or any down-time.
One thing that is important when it comes to making money on the side is finding something that doesn’t make you unhappy. If you’re doing something every day that feels unenjoyable there won’t be much motivation to keep going with it even though you have some success.
Make Sure Your Underlying Dream is Achieved
Working for yourself will mean more if your dream has been a part of your life for a long time. Maybe the dream was to be able to do what you want with little or no interference from someone else, maybe it’s about being wealthy and in control, or something creative like painting on canvas.
Whatever the underlying dream is, make sure that it has been present in your mind for many years before making any drastic decisions such as quitting work.
This article makes an assumption if you’re not happy then don’t work because working when unhappy won’t fulfill anything. Don’t let work break you etc.
However you can find happiness by achieving your dream and freelancing which allows for free time. Additionally, you are less stressed out and more rested.
Conclusion
This pandemic has allowed me to really think about working. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to work anymore but I know I need to work for money. So, my current plan is to start a marketing agency that specializes in digital products and services (like the one mentioned above).
I am also gaining new skills right now as well that will help me to launch this new business.
I am going to focus on the skills that will be most important for my marketing agency: social media management, copywriting, and digital advertising as well as gaining knowledge about e-commerce platforms (like Shopify or Magento).
This may sound a little overwhelming but I am grateful because it means I have plenty of choices!
My advice is not to give up hope. Many people find success with starting their own businesses–you can too. You just need to start planning what you want your future life and career look like so you know where you are headed next, then take some time off work (or better yet quit altogether!) in order to pursue those goals. With any luck, by the end of your exploration period, you will have a new outlook and path as well.
